At least 6 Lebanese soldiers killed in an explosion in a tunnel near Majdal Zoun

L'Orient-Le Jour

a day ago

At least seven Lebanese soldiers were killed in an ammunition explosion in the Wadi Hassan area near Majdal Zoun, in the Sour district of southern Lebanon, our correspondent in the south reports, citing local residents. The blast also injured several troops. According to residents, it appears that a group of soldiers entered a tunnel containing ammunition, which then exploded.
Our correspondent specifies that four of the soldiers killed were part of the 5th Brigade, and two belonged to the engineering regiment. The injured were quickly transferred to regional hospitals to receive necessary medical care.
The Lebanese Army has not yet officially commented on the tragedy.
Salam's tribute
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam paid tribute on X (formerly Twitter) to the fallen soldiers. 'With great pain, Lebanon mourns the sons of its valiant army who fell as martyrs in the South while fulfilling their national duty.'
'All of Lebanon, state and people, bows in homage to their sacrifices and precious blood, which reaffirm that our army is the guarantor of security, the bulwark of sovereignty, and the protector of the nation's unity and its legitimate institutions,' he wrote.
Demining operations
Since the end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the troops have continued deploying thousands of soldiers south of the Litani River, a region from which the party-militia is also expected to withdraw as stipulated in the cease-fire agreement that came into effect at the end of November 2024, ending over 13 months of conflict. Despite the truce, Israeli violations continue almost daily, with strikes and fire from the Israeli army, which still occupies five positions in Lebanese territory.
Since the start of the truce, the Lebanese army has been conducting demining operations in areas bombarded by Israel. On several occasions, the troops have had to unearth ammunition and missiles buried underground after passing through buildings that were hit. The army also reports nearly daily detonations of munitions explosions in its training fields.
On Thursday, the French army's general staff and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced that the Blue Helmets and the Lebanese army discovered in southern Lebanon a 'network' of Hezbollah tunnels as well as weapons and hundreds of munitions.
Last April, three Lebanese soldiers were killed and five civilians injured in an explosion of munitions being transported in a van belonging to the Lebanese Army's engineering department in Breiké, in the Nabatieh region.
Additionally, automatic gunfire was reportedly fired on Saturday from the Israeli site known as the 'radar' located on the Shebaa Farms — part of the Syrian Golan Heights annexed by Israel and disputed between Damascus, Beirut, and Tel Aviv — towards its surroundings, according to our correspondent.
According to a tally by L'Orient Today, based on figures from the U.N. and the Ministry of Health, the number of people killed in Lebanon by Israeli attacks, strikes, and fire amounts to at least 302 deaths since the ceasefire came into effect. This adds to the 4,047 deaths and 16,638 injuries officially recorded by the Ministry of Health in a report published in early December.